Austin Whittall

The ultimate guide to Patagonia's cryptids, mythical beasts and legendary creatures.
From lake monsters to giants, from dwarves to surviving prehistoric beasts: a Patagonian bestiary.
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And a group of swimming otters may look like a long undulating lake serpent. The following sketch explains this monster-otter likeness.

Otters cavorting in a line (bottom) can be mistaken for a “Plesiosaur” (top). Their shiny dark pelt, webbed feet, flippers, long neck, small head and “many humps” are features shared with "lake monsters". Author’s sketch, after Gould (1976, pp. 116) [1]. Also see [2].

I stumbled across the following photographs, which I reproduce below (my thanks to David and Melanie). They show a group of otters (the giant Amazon otter) swimming in a lake.

The uncritical observer would say that the upper photograph shows a long sleek lake monster.

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